FKWar 14
"The Unexpected Party" was the fourteenth of the FK Wars. It ran from Sunday January 13, 2013 through Monday January 28, 2013. The war proved contentious, largely because of mistiming, miscommunication, and differing expectations. The following article includes some analysis of the problems and their cause. War Mistress Remains anonymous. Towards the end of the war, the War Mistress proferred multiple pseudonyms: "Meg Dawson", "Alice White", and "Rapunzel Shorn(e)". The first two were almost immediately struck through, and left up in that way for a short time before being deleted. The final pseudonym remained up for about a week before it, too, was deleted. The War Mistress later explainedThe explanation of the three pseudonyms was supplied by the War Mistress in an e-mail to Greer Watson, dated 2 February 2013. that the first two pseudonyms were an in-joke related to the television series Leverage. "Rapunzel Shorne", on the other hand, was an attempt to mollify the players by suggesting that the War Mistress's prestige and dignity should be stripped (or shorn) from her. Premise Early in December, flyers begin to show up in the hometowns of Forever Knight fans. On the flyers are three runic symbols. Some days later, the same three symbols that were on the flyers appear carved in the snow outside CERK, laid out in flagstones outside Vachon's church, and spray painted on the water tower above Nick's loft. On coming to Toronto, fans in the different factions quickly learn that several of the characters received odd Christmas presents. Natalie, Tracy, and Schanke had each received a wooden gift box containing a bottle of "private reserve" wine from Point Pelee Estates; and Nick, LaCroix, Janette, and Vachon had each received a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's book, The Hobbit. There is a mystery afoot. Can the fans figure it out before it's too late? Rules No specific rules were posted for War 14, barring a description of the puzzle to be solved. Factions Involved The factions officially playing in War 14 were the Cousins, Mercenaries, Nick & Nat Pack, Die-Hards, Knighties, Vaqueras, Ravenettes, Perks, and RatPackers. There was also one independent player. *'Cousins:' **'Leaders:' Cousin Tok, Arletta Asbury, Cousin Shelley **'Players:' McLisa, Marci, MB, Brandi, Rhonda **'Vamp Kitties:' Gandalf, Merlin, Tirian, Toshi, Duncan, Zorro **'Mortal Cousinly kitties:' Willow, Frodo, Rambo **'and sundry (OCs):' Tammy the receptionist, Alex the chef. *'Die-Hards:' **'Players:' Don Fasig, Greer Watson, Ron the Enforcer *'Knighties:' ** Leaders: Brooksie, Nancy Taylor (NAT) ** Members: Katrinka, Lisa, Vickie, Eowyn, Gemsong, Min, Debbi *'Mercenary Guild:' ** Leaders: Mildred Cady ** Members: 'Laura (Shadowstar), Kat, Sara, Liz, Bast * 'Nick&NatPack: ** Leaders: Susan Bennett **'Members:' Karen (Nitenurse), Kelly *'RatPack:' **'Member:' Libby Smith *'Ravenettes' **'Member:' Alexander Braun *'Vaqueros': ** Leaders: Tabs (VaqMadre) **'Members:' Doña Angel, Tricia, Marilyn (VaqShaman), Melissa, Naia Zifu, Teri *'Perks': **'Members:' Anne Jensen *'Independent': ** Bonnie Pardoe Management of Characters There were no rules regarding the management of characters: factions were free to write them as they chose. As usual, though, the Knighties wrote about Nick, the Cousins about LaCroix, the NNP about Natalie, the Ravenettes about Janette, and the Vaqueras about Vachon (as well as mentioning Urs and the Inca in at least one post). Some factions either didn't play or made few posts; and it should be noted that Schanke, Tracy, Screed, and Feliks Twist were all employed by various factions. Archived * archived on the FKWarArchive Yahoo!Group Resources During the War The War Mistress did not prepare a website to serve as a hub and archive. Instead, she established a Twitter account, and employed the wiki article on War 14—particularly a section entitled "Highlights"—as a place for players to go to see the progress of war. (Since this use left the article less than encyclopedic in nature, it has now been renamed "FKWar 14 - War Mistress's Updates", and the present article created.) * @FKWM14 * FKWar 14 - War Mistress's Updates Twitter Page To decorate the Twitter page, the War Mistress selected a large image of the map in The Hobbit to serve as the background graphic. Although only seven people actually subscribed to the Twitter account during the war, there were others who did check it at least occasionally. The War Mistress updated it fairly frequently. Wiki "Highlights" Page Daily throughout the war, the War Mistress added to the "Highlights" and "Quotes" sections of the article as posts were made. Calendar of War Events This calendar lists major events officially scheduled during the War. * January 13 - FK fans begin arriving in Toronto. * January 20 '''- the Knighties hold a potluck dinner to which the other factions are invited * '''January 23-24 - small white envelopes containing the final riddles are delivered to each of the factions * January 26 - a party is thrown honouring the De Brabant Foundation's 70th Anniversary Summary of Events :A list of all war posts can be found in the article FKWar 14: List of War Posts. Prelude to War Before the war proper begins, Janette comes to the CERK building, where she finds LaCroix reading the copy of The Hobbit that he (like she) had mysteriously received as a Christmas present. She informs him that someone has carved three shapes into the snow outside; and they both infer from these strange events that War must be in the offing. At much the same time, Tracy visits Vachon's church, sure that he is the one who sent her an unexpected bottle of Point Pelee wine for Christmas, though he denies it. Vachon shows her a flyer that he had picked up in Chicago, on which are three runes—and Screed recognizes these as the shapes in which flagstones have been laid out in the church parking lot. One of the shapes resembles a diamond; and Screed promptly decides that it might mean that diamonds are to be found, and starts to dig a large hole to look for them. Meanwhile, Natalie (who has also received wine) and Nick (who has also received The Hobbit) discover runes painted on the water tower at the loft. Sunday to Tuesday The first couple of days of war are primarily taken up with players' journeys to Toronto. What is perhaps most notable is the relatively small number of people who chose to come: there are only a handful of Die-Hards, NNPackers, and Mercs, rattling round in their respective HQs; only one Ravenette; and no members of the DP/Perks or UF, both factions that had been active in the past. (In the end, one of the former does take a small part in the war, but from afar.) All players are summoned by the receipt of one or more flyers marked with three large runes; and the Knighties, Cousins, and Vaqueras learn of the runic graffiti at the loft, CERK, and church on their arrival. Realizing that these are the key to the War, many players set to work trying to decipher them. Although identifying the runes themselves (teiwaz, dagaz, and inguz) is straightforward, the multitude of possible interpretations is daunting. Each faction comes up with different possible meanings, none of which gets them further forward solving the puzzle. However, some players do drive around Toronto looking at the homes and businesses of other characters and factions: they discover runes in a number of places associated with additional characters. Only on Tuesday do the NNP discover a second clue, when Natalie comes round to the theatre and tells them about the copy of The Hobbit that Nick received for Christmas, and her own bottle of wine. When they examine the bottle, they see its label: ::Point Pelee Estates Private Reserve 1992 Pinot Noir lot # 0126-2100 A finite number of these ever existed. Fewer still remain today. Merry Christmas to all And to all a good knight. Ludum Geratur Wednesday to Friday Although other factions may know about the gifts, they do not, as yet, know what particular significance they may have. As a result, frustration grows; and members fill in the time as best they may—cleaning their HQs, encountering FK characters, shopping, listening to music, and driving round town. However, on Wednesday, the NNP discover that Schanke also got a bottle of wine for Christmas. Though they are having trouble figuring out what its label means, they suspect that the poem refers to the dwindling number of fans. One of the Die-Hards decides to find out whether, in the absence of Perks, Tracy is willing to talk to someone from a neutral faction. She produces her own gift bottle of wine. They also interpret the label to refer to the decline of FK fandom. Also, they figure out that the label may encode a date and time: January 26, 9 p.m. Paranoia is starting to develop in other factions, too: in the words of the Knightie leader, Brooksie, "This is the swan song of Wars and we are all to meet at the Pelee Winery Pavilion at the end of the War, get drunk, and then go home. Period. End of story. End of Forever Knight." In the meantime, bored with the slow progress of War, the Vaqueras decide to spice things up by creating a fake flyer of their own. "A couple hundred copies were made on various bright shades of paper, which were then mailed to the various faction headquarters, placed under other factions' members' windshield wipers, given along with bribes to pizza delivery guys, and just generally placed around town for other factions' members to happen upon." (In the subsequent posts made by other factions, the number of flyers grows exponentially until it seems that the whole of Toronto has been paper-bombed.) When the other factions get the new flyers, there is much initial excitement at the new clue. Most factions spend time trying to solve the runes. However, some do figure out that it's a fake, and that the Vaqueras are behind it. 19 January 2012, Saturday 20 January 2012, Sunday 21 January 2012, Monday 22 January 2012, Tuesday 23 January 2012, Wednesday 24 January 2012, Thursday 25 January 2012, Friday Saturday (26 January) Although the fans still have no idea what is supposed to be happening at the party, the factions eventually decide that they will go along with their instructions—though it is well into the day before they have all puzzled out the details. (Where to go perplexes some of them well into the day.) However, when the celebrations begin, wine has duly been provided by the Cousins, Chinese food by the Vaqueras, and party decorations by the NNP and Mercs, while the Ravenettes bring the Perks' extra brownies. If the Die-Hards turn out not to be able to book the specified band, Smoke and Fog, they do at least come up with an alternative. Only the Mercs decide to play tricks, not only substituting blondies for brownies, but spiking them with hot peppers and laxatives in rebellion at being ordered to bring something to the party...for free. When they all arrive, they discover that they are attending a 70th anniversary celebration honouring the De Brabant Foundation—organized by Feliks Twist, compèred by Captain Cohen, and attended by many of the characters and a crowd of dignitaries, as well as the fans. The "bricks" that the Knighties have been told to bring turn out to be party favours. ("Oh, I get it - bricks, foundation - that's clever. Yes, very amusing.") After Cohen's speech, the party begins. Mind you, some fans are still puzzled. While this all satisfactorily accounts for the riddles on the wine boxes, coupons, labels, and flyers, how do the runes fit in? However, all is revealed when Screed returns to the hole that he had dug in the carpark at Vachon's church, investigates further, and finds a chamber containing a treasure hoard. Just as it all starts to cave in, he escapes with a huge gem (rather resembling the Arkenstone) and a mysterious clue to a cure. Sunday to Monday (27-28 January) With the celebration over, the fans return to their respective faction HQs; and, over the next couple of days, say goodbye to one another and head home. Memorable moments References Category: FK Wars